1. Field
The present disclosure generally relates to apparatus and methods for storing items, such as medications, and particularly to controlled access to drawer containers that store medications.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is well known in the medical community, and in particular, in hospitals, to store medications in a centralized area or station for dispensing and administering the medications to patients. These stations have often been unsecured, allowing access to unauthorized persons. Consequently, there are several risks associated with these unsecured stations, such as the wrong type or amount of medication being administered to a patient (e.g., such as when medication is taken from an incorrect container in the station), the medication being stolen, or the mixing of medications.
Securable medication dispensing cabinets that seek to address these risks often contain complex mechanics in order to lock medication containers, which both reduces the amount of space in the cabinet to store medications, and increases the manufacturing cost of the cabinet. Additionally, and also often due to the complexity of the mechanics, the containers are not adjustable or reconfigurable in size, such that larger medications may not fit in a container, or smaller medications may waste excess space in the container. In many cases, unauthorized access to both secured and unsecured medication dispensing cabinets often goes undetected. For example, it is difficult for an authorized user during routine use to determine if a cabinet has been tampered with or insubstantially damaged in order to inappropriately access medications.